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In the mid-1880s, the U.S. Army had its hands full attempting to capture the legendary Apache warrior, Geronimo.
Geronimo was a brilliant tactical commander: an expert in maneuver warfare; a master in the arts of cover and deception; and an early practitioner of information warfare (e.g., cutting telegraph lines upon which the Army depended to pass intelligence and to coordinate logistics and tactical activities).
Geronimo's skill allowed his small band of warriors to roam and raid widely throughout the Arizona Territory and northern New Mexico while eluding several thousand troops deployed to capture them.
In 1886, General Nelson A. Miles was sent to Arizona to revitalize U.S. Army efforts. During his initial tour of the Territory, General Miles was impressed by the manner in which tall mountains dominated broad valleys, which in turn offered little cover for concealment. He took note also of the unusually cloud-free, clear air of Arizona's high desert.
Shortly after taking command, General Miles directed that the region in which Geronimo was most active be divided into sections, each dominated by a high peak. Additionally, the peaks were selected to assure line-of-sight between adjacent sections.
On each of the selected peaks, the Army built a strong defensive position, with provisions to withstand a siege. Each mountain garrison was equipped with high quality binoculars and telescopes to permit surveillance of the terrain below.
Finally, each garrison was provided with a recently-developed communications device, a heliostat. This new instrument was developed by the British Army in the 1870s and had been introduced only recently to the U.S. A heliostat comprised a large mirror mounted on a tripod and the mechanisms required to aim a beam of light in a specific direction. The rays of the sun or acetylene torches provided illumination for both day and night communications via Morse Code.
In a relatively short period following the establishment of this system, improved surveillance and communications allowed the Army to coordinate their campaign against Geronimo to the point that running was no longer feasible and the whey Apache leader surrendered.
A century later, U.S. military forces are still seeking new ways to use the available high ground, in this case orbiting satellite systems, to improve their tactical effectiveness.
There is one other parallel between the mountain peaks of 19th Century Arizona and today's use of space. Neither the mountain garrisons nor space are important of themselves; each represents a vantage point from which sensors and communications can be employed to advantage. In short, space is a place, not a mission, not (for the foreseeable future) a theater of operations!